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Recognizing Jesus

First preached on Transfiguration Sunday, February 23, 2020, at St. Luke’s Lutheran Church in Logan Square.  Relevant lectionary texts here. I don’t know how many of you are familiar with it, but I grew up on the musical “Jesus Christ Superstar.”  My mom introduced it to me and my siblings when we were pretty young […]

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Decolonizing our Thinking to Build A Movement

First preached on February 16, 2019 to St. Luke’s Lutheran Church in Logan Square, Chicago. Relevant lectionary texts here. I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live. Today we continue on in the Gospel of Matthew with Jesus’ sermon on the mount.  […]

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The Land Tells a Story

First preached at St. Luke’s Lutheran Church of Logan Square on 1/26/2020 Relevant lectionary readings here. About this time last year I was just returning from my first trip to the Holy Land. As part of a J-term class with LSTC, we visited Israel, Palestine, Jordan, and Egypt.  At the end of the trip, my […]

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Here Comes that Dreamer

First preached at St. Luke’s Lutheran Church of Logan Square on 1/19/2020. Relevant lectionary readings here. “They said to one another, ‘Behold, here comes that master dreamer.  Come now, let us slay him… and we shall see what will become of his dreams.’” A version of these words of foreboding is inscribed on a memorial […]

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Beloved Bodies

First preached on December 24, 2019 at St. Luke’s Lutheran Church in Logan Square. Merry Christmas!  We are so glad to have you here at St. Luke’s tonight.  Maybe some of you have been feeling the build up during Advent and this time of preparation, and you have butterflies in your stomach and your toes […]

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A Sign

Originally preached at St. Luke’s Lutheran Church in Logan Square on December 22, 2019. Relevant lectionary texts here.  We have spent quite a bit of time with the prophet Isaiah in this season of Advent.  Besides a visit during our special children’s message on Advent 1 from the prophet Isaiah himself, four of our first […]

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A Homily In Praise of Darkness

This homily was first preached at St. Luke’s in Logan Square on December 11, 2019.  It was part of a Midweek Advent service in the traditional form of Evening Prayer, but inverting the light/darkness binary in thanksgiving to God for darkness. For example and context, we read from Isaiah about the treasures of darkness and […]

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The Party Platform of Christ the King

Originally preached at St. Luke’s Lutheran Church in Logan Square. Relevant lectionary texts here. Grace and Peace are yours from the Triune God, whose eternal reign outlasts that of any tyrant or king.  Amen. I watched the Democratic Debates Wednesday.  Did anyone else? I always go into these debates excited, full of hope and anticipation, […]

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The Endtimes and the Meantimes

First preached on November 17, 2019, at St. Luke’s Lutheran Church in Logan Square. Relevant lectionary readings here. The tension is building, things are starting to really ramp up in the lectionary readings this week.  The past two weeks we have been spending time contemplating endings and beginnings; remembering the saints of the past, present […]

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Sifting Through Our Heritage

First preached at St. Luke’s Lutheran Church of Logan Square on October 27, 2019. Relevant lectionary texts here. It’s Reformation Sunday.  About 502 years ago, a monk named Martin Luther posted a treatise with 95 points to the door of a church in Germany.  And here we are, over half a millenia later, worshipping in […]